From Mexico to Canada, mountain plants are moving upslope to cooler elevations. In some mountain ranges, the upward climb is as fast as 112 metres per decade
at Brown University in Rhode Island. “The question is, to what degree? And are they able to keep up?”
When the researchers looked at the mountain slopes’ peak “greenness” – a measure of vegetation cover during the height of the growing season – they found a rapid shift: plants were moving an average of 67 metres higher per decade – more than four times faster than previously reported. In New Mexico, where vegetation was moving fastest, plants climbed over 112 metres per decade.
“It’s pretty hard to think about any explanation for this [pattern] other than something that is operating consistently across nine mountain ranges between Mexico and Canada,” says Kellner. Climate change has also impacted the amount and timing of precipitation in some ranges, but the pattern hasn’t been steady across all regions.
“If species are being pushed outside of the range in which they can have a viable, sustainable population,” says Kellner, “then we could be in a situation where we’re going to lose them.”
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